president barac barack obama. also in japan, businesses and consumer sentiment appear to be heading in opposite directions. fushiko has more for us from tokyo. >> hi, ross. japanese consumer confidence improved in november, up 11.3 points from the previous month. the index shows more people turned optimistic on the overall economy, income growth and the job market. the government says consumer confidence continues to improve and it's keeping its assessment unchanged. on the other hand, sentiment at large japanese companies took a turn for the worst. the fourth quarter index came down from 12 points in the previous quarter as a weaker yen caused import prices of oil and minerals to rise. the finance ministry said the index will make a comeback to 11.8 in the fourth quarter next year and large firms hope consumer spending will expand before the april tax hike. the outlook falls in the quarter when the hike comes into effect as business conditions are expected to worsen. ross, back to you. >> thanks for that. meanwhi